The
Rambler
Popular Version
Os an Old Story
By JACK JONAS
How does a piece of writing
with wide appeal lose its iden
tity with an author?
That question has plagued
authors and anthologists for
centuries, and has risen again
to bother Carl Claudy, editor
of “The Transmitter,” publi
cation of the Chesapeake &
Potomac Telephone Co.
The piece that is troubling
him is titled “One Solitary
Life,” and goes like this:
“Here is a young man who
was born in an obscure village,
the child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in another village.
He worked in a carpenter shop
until He was thirty, and then
for three years He was an
Itinerant preacher. He never
wrote a book. He never held
an office. He never owned a
home. He never had a family.
He never went to a college.
“He never put His foot inside
a big city. He never traveled
200 miles from the place where
He was born. He never did one
of the things that usually ac
company greatness. He had no
credentials but himself.
"While He was still a young
man, the tide of public opinion
turned against Him. His
friends ran away.
"He was turned over to His
enemies. He went through the
mockery of a trial. He was
nailed to a cross between two
thieves. While he was dying,
His executioners gambled for
the only piece of property He
had on earth, and that was
His CQBt.
“When He was dead, He was
laid in a borrowed grave
through the pity of a friend.
“NINETEEN CENTURIES
wide have come and gone, and
today He is the central figure
of the human race and the
leader of the column of prog
ress. I am far within the mark
when I say that all the armies
that ever marched, and all
the navies that ever sailed,
and all the parliaments that
ever sat, and all the kings that
ever reigned, put together,
have not affected the life of
a man upon this earth as has
that one solitary life!”
That message came to a tele
phone company official on a
Christmas card he received
last year.
It Impressed him, and he
laid it aside. This year he dug
It out again and turned it
over to Mr. Claudy, who re
printed it in the December
issue of “The Transmitter,” 1
spread over the two center
pages with a picture drawn by
a Washington artist.
Mr. Claudy says wiser men
than he have tried to find the
source of the bit of writing,
so he didn’t even try. The ref
erence to the nineteen cen
turies seems to pinpoint it as
the work of a 20th Century
writer, who may still be alive
to claim it as his own.
THE COMPANY reprinted
Mr. Claudy's two-page spread
in fancier form, and sent it out
as a Christmas card. Along
with it went this note:
“Editors, writers and minis
ters have credited this anony
mous tribute to many sources
—Phillips Brooks, O. Henry,
Mark Twain. Emerson Fosdick
—to name a few. It has ap
peared in many anthologies
and has been the subject of
many sermons. . . .
"The editors consulted li
braries and prominent minis
ters to determine its origin
to no avail. 'One Solitary Life’
is a piece of great distinction.”
Mr. Claudy may not have
searched, but he’s as curious
as the ministers and other
editors who did. and still would
like to know the source of
“One Solitary Life.”
Street Scenes...
Boy clutching a dime-store
paint set and staring wist
fully at a display of fancy
brushes and paints in an art
store on G street. . . .
One bike rider towing an
other, whose bike was dis
abled by a broken pedal, on
Georgetown road. . . .
An auto of about 1938
vintage, headed south on
Fourteenth street N.W., and
bearing on its side the letter
ing “Arlington or Bust.” . . .
A man telling the woman
with him, as they inspected a
window display in a fancy
Connecticut avenue dress
shop: “I may not have shaved
this morning, but I'm not
Santa Claus." . . .
Radio-TV —Comics
Feature Page
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SANTA ON ERIE STREET—The home of Mr. and
Mrs. N. B. Lyon, 3382 Erie street S.E., has taken on
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BIBLICAL MESSAGE—The letters on the house of
Benjamin Kerby, 4357 Southern avenue S.E., spell
Bold Cowboy Forswears
Roping President Again
The cowboy rope expert who
lassoed President Eisenhower at
the 1953 Inaugural Parade wants
to be in the one next month, but
he promised not to repeat his
performance.
To the consternation of the
Secret Service, Monty Montana,
at the last parade roped the
President, who was reviewing the
parade.
Inaugural officials said they
have the cowboy's request under
advisement.
Edward R. Carr, parade chair
man, said: “He promised not to
lasso the President if we let him
ride again this year.”
Mr. Montana, who is from
Northridge. Calif., said if per
mitted to parade, he will enter
tain parents in hospitals here,
during his stay.
Drug Addict Sentenced
In Assault and Larceny
Eldridge Brown, 24-year-old
ex-convict and narcotic addict
who disarmed a special police
man and then wounded a Christ
mas shopper, today was sen
tenced to 540 days in jail by
Municipal Court Judge Andrew
Howard on charges of assault
and petty larceny.
Lt. Nunzio Bonaccorsy, sth
precinct detective, said the
shooting occurred when Special
Officer Stacy Prince. 51. of 752
Princeton place N.W., attempted
to arrest Brown of the 700 block
of Girard street N.W. for shop
lifting.
The special policeman said
Brown wrestled with him in
front of the Kopy Kat women's
store, 713 H street N.E., took
his gun and fired one shot which
SPEED SPOTTING BY PLANE
FACING TEST NEXT WEEK
BEDFORD, Va. (A*).—Virginia's new air-to-ground dou
ble play being employed by State police to catch speeders
will come in for a court test next week.
Two truckers who were convicted of speeding last month
in Bedford County Court have appealed. The case is sched
uled for January 3.
Edgar M. Loftin. Jr.. 38. of Ellerson. and Henry Ashby
Mason. 38, of Glen Alien, were arrested by State police after
being spotted by the light plane the division uses in enforc
ing traffic regulations
The attorney for the men said the appeal would be based
on the possibility of human error on the part of the police
men in the airplane. After clocking vehicles through a
measured half mile, the air patrol radios a State trooper
on the ground, who tickets the suspected speeders.
i Then there's another problem
. the inauguration officials are
i wrestling with. It's whether the
. elephant, emblemati. of the
Grand Old Party, would slow
down the line of march. The
President wants to keep the
■ parade within two hours.
; Dr. Theodore Reed, acting
of the National Zoo
logical Park, said the normal
’ marching speed of elephants is
' about four miles an hour. This
compares with the usual march
. ing rate of men of three miles
i an hour, officials said,
i Previously, Miss Burma, an
elephant from the Mills Brothers
i Circus, has participated in the
parade. But Mr. Carr re
• called she “showed considerable
, temperament" and repeatedly
dropped out of the line of march.
I struck Percy C. Holmes, 78, of
, 1110 Sixty-ninth place. High
land Park, Md.
The bullet grazed Mr. Holmes'
forehead. He was treated at
Casualty Hospital and released.
Police said the street was
crowded with Christmas shop
’ pers and passersby quickly called
police when they saw the special
officer struggling with the sus
pect. Meanwhile, Prince's son,
| Curtis. 16, went to his father's
I ald -
Brown was charged with two
cases of assault and one of petty
larceny. He said the suspect has
serfed prison terms for shoplift
! ing. grand larceny and petty lar
ceny. Police said Brown also is
i a known narcotics addict.
file Jfreraitg j&I
WASHINGTON, D. C., TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1956
a new brilliance during the holidays with this gaily
elaborate Yuletide display.
out the Biblical message of St. John in varicolored
lights, topped by the Star of Bethlehem.
j
I
JW ICS* ;
ELMER JOHN SWEENEY
(Photo Taken in 1930) j
Photo Holds
Ex-Convict in '
Holdup Fizzle '
A former Alcatraz convict yes
terday was charged with an at
tempted holdup of the wife of i
Washington gambler Roger W..i
(Whitetop) Simkins.
Police said they were told the
attempt was reported by Mrs. (
Yvonne Simkins, 35, last Thurs- i (
day.
They arrested Elmer John
'Bulldog) Sweeney, 50, at his j
home in the 3300 block of C ,
street S.E., Sunday night, after!]
his photograph had been identi-i
fled by Mrs. Simkins as one «f ,
two men she said attempted to
rob her.
Sweeney not only denied the i
chdrge. but offered an alibi. ]
"I don't see how she could
identify me when I wasn't even
there," he said.
Mrs. Simkins, whose husband '
is serving a 16-to-54-month sen
tence for bribing policemen, said
Sweeney was the man who came
to the door of her home and
gave her a box of chocolates he
said was "from your husband."
As a maid opened the door of :
her $50,000 home in the 1700
block of Sheppherd street N.W.,
he forced his way in and de-|
manded money, she said.
When she ran from the house,
the men fled, she said.
Abandoned Infant
Given Operation
The baby abandoned on a doc
tor's doorstep was reported in
satisfactory condition at District
General Hospital today after a
hernia operation.
The 2-monthtold male infant,
warmly clad and well-dressed,
was found lying in a dogfood
box outside 925 Rhode Island
avenue N.W. Sunday night.
He was taken to me city hos
pital where he was operated on
yesterday for a hernia. If his
.mother is not located b* will be
turned over to the Welfare De
partment.
Mysterious Death of Pet
Saddens Nuns' Christmas
There's something missing this;
Christmas Day for the 15 nuns
at Our Lady of Lourdes Convent
in Bethesda—a neighborhood
dog, which used to pay them
frequent visits.
Jenny, a 7-year-old black
cocker, was a familiar sight!
around the convent off the 7500
block of Pearl street until she
suddenly died from what was
believed to be a case of dog
poisoning.
That was about 10 days ago,
when a number of other Be
thesda area pets also were re
ported poisoned. The poisonings
received considerable publicity,
but so far there has been no
final solution by Montgomery
County police.
Jenny was one of about 14
dogs and two cats which died
mysteriously during a two-month
period. It is believed the animals
may have accidentally come
across some poison put out at
certain establishments in the
Bethesda business district to
kill rats. .
' Detective Lt. John P. Leahy,
said the Investigation is still
open. He noted, however, that
there have been no new animal
poisonings since Jenny’s death.
A chemical analysis of Jenny’s
body failed to disclose any signs
of strychnine or other metallic
poisons.
For the Franciscan nuns at
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish,
lit is the first time in three years
that Jenny has not been around
to help them celebrate Christ
mas.
"We miss her.” one sister said
yesterday between answering the
door to receive Christmas pres-;
ents for herself and the other;
nuns from members of the parish
and school children. "We used
to put a bow around her neck,
the biggest one jme could find.”
Jenny actually was the pet of
Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt L. Slay, Jr.,;
whose apartment at 4518 Avon
dale street is Just a few doors
from the convent. She wasn’t
; quite the stay-at-home type,
however, and was well known
around the community.
Early Federal Pay Boosts
Sales in Washington Stores
Many Washington merchants
were spending a merry Christ
mas today, fortified with the
knowledge that early Federal
Government pay checks aided
materially In boosting sales yes
terday.
It was estimated that from 116
million to tit million was dis
tributed by Government agen
cles, which cave some 100.000
employes their psy early on Fri
day. Normally, they would have
been paid on Monday, Tuesday
and Wednesday.
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SEASON’S GREETINGS—The decorations on the home of Herbert Sharper
at 4407 Southern avenue S.E., conveys the season’s greetings to passersby.
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A PRIZE WINNER—The home of Charles H. Deery, 4 East Hamilton avenue,
Silver Spring, won first prize in a contest sponsored by the Sligo-Branview Com
munity Association.—Star Staff Photos by Ranny Routt. ;
At the convent, the sisters
sometimes called her Blackie.
So did a lot of other people.!
Jenny—short for Jennifer—made
many visits to the convent
around meal time.
“She always got a bone,” the
sister said. “We used to let her
come in. We heard about her
death the next morning. Some
one came and told us she was
poisoned. Now the only thing
missing "from Christmas is
Jenny.”
Meanwhile Mr. and Mrs. Slay
and their young son Mike were
due to get a replacement for
Jenny today. An uncle was to
give a new puppy to Mike as a
Christmas present. i
\
jApp*’' JffW
HIS VISIT "DEPLORED”—
William Worthy, special
; correspondent for the. Ba
ltimore Afro-American, has
been castigated by a State
I Department spokesman for
crossing the borders of
Red China for a month’s
f visit. The department was
described as "deploring"
' Mr. Worthy’s action be
! cause “it is against the
expressed policy of the
J United States Govern
ment.”—AP Photo.
j
The large shopping crowds de
lighted the businessmen, and
many reported bumper sales
But no dollar value of Wash
ington's Christmas shopping
spree is officially available The
only clue will be the Federal
Reserve Board’s figures, which
will be made public later.
The unseasonably warm
weather had held down sales
earlier. But the buying public
loosened Its purse strings ss the
lYuletMe i;ghu grew brighter.
Local News
Suburban
'SANTA' TUMBLES
OFF SILVER SPRING
BUILDING LFDGF
Five Silver Spring young
sters missed out on their an
nual visit from a neighbor
hood Santa Claus last night
when the toy-ladened car
rier slipped from a ledge and
fell one stofy to a concrete
alleyway.
J. Willard Plum, 41, is in
undetermined •condition in
Suburban Hospital with seri
oue head injuries suffered
in the fall from a ledge out
side his apartment at 8207
Georgia avenue.
Mr. Plum, a carpenter
foreman, for several years
has dressed as Santa and j
passed out gifts to children
of his friends, who gather
j in his apartment.
Communism Hit
In Jewish Talks
Russian force and brutality
cannot erase man's desire for re
ligion, Rabbi David Panitz of i
Congregation Adas Israel told
: 1,200 delegates to the sixth an
nual meeting of the United Syn
agogue Youth yesterday in the
Willard Hotel.
Rabbi Panitz said “man's basic
impulse to morality and need of
religion" can never be overcome
by anti-religious domination.
In another address, Arthur
Pestcoe, 18. of Trenton, N. J.,
national president of the Jewish
youth group, said that the up
ris'n'’s of young peoole In Poland
and Hungary against communism
was "an inspiring demonstration
for freedom.”
An Eternal Light, a symbolic
fixture in Jewish Temples, was
presented to the Jewish chapel
at Port Myer yesterday by a
delegation of 50 teen-agers at
tending the meeting Officers
for next year will be elected at
meetings today, and the con
ference will end with a luncheon
session tomorrow.
About 600 teen-ager* from
Washington, Maryland and Vir
ginia are expected to attend the
area convention of the B'nal
B'rith Youth Organization which
opens tomorrow
The four-day meeting will in
clude business meetings, •eml
nars. contest* and social affairs
Activities during the four-day
meeting are scheduled at Hotel
2400. the Meridian Hill and
Windsor Park hotel* and the
Jewish Community Center
Americans in Spain
MADRID—In less than a de
cade the flow of American
i visitors to Spain has increased
more than 5.500 per cent—from
! 3.500 in 1947 to more than 200-
000 in 1955.
★ ★
Alien Students
learning U. S.
Yule Customs
A group of foreign students Is
getting an exciting Insight into
how America celebrates the
Christmas season.
Arriving in Washington yes
terday from the University of
Michigan, the contingent of 26
from 14 foreign countries first
was driven to the home of Mr.
and Mrs. William S. Kilborne,
3549 Springland lane N.W.
Here they sampled a pancake
and sausage breakfast before
! touring Mount Vernon. Supper
was served them at the Inter
national Student House. 1825 R
street N.W., followed by a
Christmas party with, of course,
caroling and gift-exchange.
The students will be dinner
guests of various area families
today. Tomorrow there will be
tours of the White House. Capitol
Hill and the National Gallery of
Art. The group will lunch at
the Supreme Court.
The visit is sponsored by the
newly organized Foreign Student
Service Council of Greater
Washington. 2124 Florida ave
nue N.W. Helping with the hos
pitality, are members of the
Experiment in International Liv
ing, Women's Group of the For
eign Service, International Fed
eration of Catholic Alumnae,
National Council of Catholic
Women, Northern Virginia Dean
ery and United Church Women,
Arlington Council.
3 Girls Linked
To Robbery
An Alexandria youth being
held on a rape charge has ad
mitted participating in a Fairfax
County delicatessen robbery with
several other Juveniles, including
three girls, police said.
Fairfax police said Enoch
Roach. 19. of John Robert*
Homes, told them about the Oc
tober 30 break-ln at a Huntington
delicatessen which netted about
1100 in cash and checks Roach
is one of four youth* held in
Fairfax County Jail on charges
of beating and raping a 17-year
old Alexandria girl November 29.
Police said a 17-year-old girl
from Huntington, a 14-ycar-old
from Alexandria and a 17-year
old from Virginia Hill* in Fairfax
County were involved in the
robbery
The Hunting Urn girl ha* been
released on 1250 bond pending a
bearing December 28 in Juvenile
Court No date ha* been net for
hearing* on the other girl* who
are In the custody of their
parent*.
A-19